Stephen Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins (7 March 1707-13 July 1785) was Governor of Rhode Island from 1755 to 1757 (interrupting William Greene Sr.'s two terms), from 1758 to 1762 (succeeding Greene and preceding Samuel Ward), from 1763 to 1765 (interrupting Ward's terms), and from 1767 to 1768 (succeeding Ward and preceding Josias Lyndon).

Biography
Stephen Hopkins was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1707, and he was descended from a prominent family. Hopkins became a surveyor and astronomer, and he began his public service at the age of 23 as a justice of the peace in the newly established town of Scituate. He also became a part owner of an iron foundry and a successful merchant, and he served as Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1751 to 1755, from 1755 to 1756, and from 1770 to 1775, as well as Governor from 1755 to 1757, from 1758 to 1762, from 1763 to 1765, and from 1767 to 1768. During his political career, he developed a heated rivalry with Samuel Ward, who advocated hard currency instead of paper money, which Hopkins advocated. In 1768, they temporarily ended their rivalry - which had destabilized Rhode Island politics - by both agreeing not to run for office. In 1770, Hopkins once again became Chief Justice, and, in 1774, Hopkins and Ward represented Rhode Island at the First Continental Congress. Hopkins signed the US Declaration of Independence in 1776 with worsening palsy in his hands, and he served in the Congress until September 1776, when failing health forced him to resign. He became the first chancellor of the future Brown University, and he died in Providence in 1785 at the age of 78, becoming known as Rhode Island's greatest statesman.